Latvia appeals removal of sanctions on Russians Fridman and Aven

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VILNIUS (Reuters) – Latvia has appealed a decision by the European Union Court of Justice that annulled sanctions imposed on Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman and his business partner Petr Aven, Latvian news agency LETA quoted the country’s Ministry of Justice as saying.

LETA said the ECJ “is currently assessing whether the appeal is admissible”.

ECJ, the EU’s top court, in April annulled sanctions imposed on Aven and Fridman in 2022-23, saying the bloc had failed to provide sufficient evidence that the two had supported the Kremlin’s actions or policies against Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.

Fridman is a dual Russian-Israeli citizen and Aven is a dual Russian-Latvian citizen, ECJ said in its judgements.

They are major shareholders of conglomerate Alfa Group, which includes Russia’s top private bank Alfa Bank and its biggest food retailer X5 Retail Group.